Trailer Build Planning

[hube2]

In another discussion I was looking for a trailer. In the end I have decided that I would be better off if I just build it myself. I'm going to use a Harbor Freight 1720# frame. There are many examples of doing this out there so I have a lot of inspiration. Also a lot of tips on issues and things that need to be improved like the grounding issues.

Anyway, I am going to build railings using cedar because it is lighter weight than other materials but still sturdy, unless someone can tell me of something lighter I can use that will still be sturdy. The railings will be 32 inches high form the trailer bed because I am going to use plywood to enclose it when I need to haul something like stone. A single sheet of plywood will cut nicely to fit this height.

Here's the part where I am looking for ideas...

I would like to be able to easily and quickly attach and detach the plywood from the railings.

I'm not exactly sure how to accomplish this. I have some ideas on how this might be done but I want to see what others think. I could do it with carriage bolts but that would be a real pita if I wanted to take them off.

The panels would need to attach securely so that they could not come loose and should also be tight enough to help prevent any warping and yet be attached in a way that would let me "unhook" them easily. It would also be nice if it didn't look like crap.

I'm thinking of some kind of clamp or bracket but can't seem to find anything... more than likely because I'd need to know what it would be called to find it.

Any ideas?

 

[jaxs]

If that frame is 48"x96", 8" sides will hold all the rock,sand or dirt axles and springs can support. Tires may farthar reduce load capacity so look at those before getting too far along. Perhaps making bottom slat of 3 slat side shown above 8-10 inches tall can make plywood unneccessary when hauling rock. Wish you were close,I'd injoy helping you weld up a trailer that fit your need. For this I'd salvage a tandem axle boat trailer,cut it way down in leingth and build from there. That give's you wheels for 15 or 16 inch tires that easily carry 1k each on passenger tires and much more on LT truck tires. $500 to $800 ready for floor. Sorry about thread wander,what is the "grounding"issue you mentioned?

 

[CoyPatton]

My personal experience with one of these light duty trailers is that the 1720lbs of weight rating is over rated and based solely on what the tires are rated to handle at the prescribed psi!
I had one of these trailers. Carrying about 1500lbs on the trailer with the weight over the axle and forward of the axle, tires fully inflated, I bent the frame of the trailer, there was no weight in the back 2-2.5 ft of the trailer. Yet the frame bent from traveling on the highway at reduced speeds. Following this experience, I limited the load on the trailer to 1000lbs or less, typically less in the form of s small lawn mower. Upon purchase of a larger/heavier mower, a larger trailer was purchased.

 

[newbury]

For fastening Plywood to slats I've used flat ubolts. flat ubolt
And for assembly/disassembly I use an extra deep 7/16 socket on my DeWalt 20vMax drill.

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[hube2]

If that frame is 48"x96", 8" sides will hold all the rock,sand or dirt axles and springs can support. Tires may farthar reduce load capacity so look at those before getting too far along. Perhaps making bottom slat of 3 slat side shown above 8-10 inches tall can make plywood unneccessary when hauling rock. Wish you were close,I'd injoy helping you weld up a trailer that fit your need. For this I'd salvage a tandem axle boat trailer,cut it way down in leingth and build from there. That give's you wheels for 15 or 16 inch tires that easily carry 1k each on passenger tires and much more on LT truck tires. $500 to $800 ready for floor. Sorry about thread wander,what is the "grounding"issue you mentioned?

Didn't actually think about the fact that I could not possible carry that much stone. I get it in 1000# loads and you're right, that's not much stone and I don't need 32 inches of depth on the sides. using an 8 or 10 inch wide board on the bottom may be the simplest solution.

 

[hube2]

Sorry about thread wander,what is the "grounding"issue you mentioned?

Sorry I missed your question.

the wiring that comes with these trailers does not run the ground wire to all of the lights. Instead you are supposed to connect the ground for each light directly to the frame near then light and you connect the ground at the front to the frame. The issue is that with all the paint and the fact the the frame connections are not solid so that it can fold the continuity is poor. The only real way to fix it is to get some additional wire to run all the way to the lights instead.

 

[hube2]

Going to be honest here, the only reason I was going to make the sides 32 inches was because a 4x8 sheet of plywood would be extremely easy to cut up to fit the size of the trailer.

The comment by @jaxs really made me think about how deep this thing really needs to be. I seriously doubt that I will ever need that kind of depth. I can just make the sides a lot shorter. A single 1x12 board would give me plenty of depth to haul anything that I'm likely to haul. Means less materials and less weight reducing the load capacity of the trailer.

If I ever need something taller I can simply build a second set of rails.

This is why I posted my question, to get someone to make me think about things that I had not thought about.

 

[WranglerX]

A lot of people in "teardrop" trailer world use the HF Chinesium trailers for base, and many report a failure of where tongue attaches to bed to be a failure point... Secondary failure point is wheels and tires.... I would think for "farm" work where trailer is treated more roughly than on a "highway" that HF trailers is not going to be what you hoped it would be...

 

[hube2]

A lot of people in "teardrop" trailer world use the HF Chinesium trailers for base, and many report a failure of where tongue attaches to bed to be a failure point... Secondary failure point is wheels and tires.... I would think for "farm" work where trailer is treated more roughly than on a "highway" that HF trailers is not going to be what you hoped it would be...

I am not 100% decided on the frame, but it's what will suit my needs.

It's really not going to see much use and most of that use will get to haul things home. Yes, the small tires will limit my speed, but it's not like I'm going to be pulling this every time I pull out of my driveway.

I'm not going to build my own trailer completely from scratch (frame). What I need a frame like this that is already road worthy that I can have shipped to my door and all I need to do is put it together. Adding a plywood deck and some lumber sides is in my skill set. Building a trailer frame is not. Taring down some old trailer that started life as something else and getting it road worthy is also something likely beyond my capability to get done.

I'm willing to go with some other trailer frame kit in about the same size if anyone has suggestions, but I'm not finding anything that really any better than the one from HF.

 

[nyone]

I am not 100% decided on the frame, but it's what will suit my needs.

It's really not going to see much use and most of that use will get to haul things home. Yes, the small tires will limit my speed, but it's not like I'm going to be pulling this every time I pull out of my driveway.

I'm not going to build my own trailer completely from scratch (frame). What I need a frame like this that is already road worthy that I can have shipped to my door and all I need to do is put it together. Adding a plywood deck and some lumber sides is in my skill set. Building a trailer frame is not. Taring down some old trailer that started life as something else and getting it road worthy is also something likely beyond my capability to get done.

I'm willing to go with some other trailer frame kit in about the same size if anyone has suggestions, but I'm not finding anything that really any better than the one from HF.

Any trailer that you can get shipped to your house and bolt together is going to be prety poor quality in part because if they can ship it to you in a box they can ship it from over sea in a bigger box.